Toshiba 4G WiMax-Ready Laptops Introduced

Toshiba's Digital Products Division, a division of Toshiba
America Information Systems, rolled out a range of 4G WiMax-ready
laptops, designed to give consumers broader wireless coverage. WiMax, a
telecommunications protocol that provides fixed and mobile Internet
access, is currently available in 54 cities nationwide. Toshiba's WiMax
enabled notebooks will be available on Sept. 26 at select retailers,
according to a company release.
The Satellite A665 notebook blends Toshiba's Fusion X2 styling with
multimedia performance for high-def entertainment and productivity.
Offering a 16-inch diagonal HD TruBrite widescreen display, a premium
audio package, the latest Intel Core processors and optional Nvidia
GeForce graphics also includes a suite of features like Sleep and Music
for listening to music through the speakers without having to power up.
WiMax will be available on the Satellite A665-S6086, Satellite
A665-S6094, Satellite A665-S6097 Satellite A665-S6098 and the
3D-capable Satellite A665-3DV6 models, which start at $804.99.

The Satellite M645 notebook is a compact PC featuring a 14-inch
diagonal HD TruBrite widescreen display, the latest Intel Core
processors and a premium audio package with harman/kardon speakers and
Dolby Advanced Audio technology. WiMAX will be available on the
Satellite M645-S4063 and Satellite M645-S4070 models starting at
$759.99. The Port??Â«g??Â« R705-P35 boasts a 13.3-inch diagonal widescreen
display, and a starting weight of just three pounds. The notebook
measures about one inch thin and features a raised tile keyboard.
Built-in Intel Wireless Display technology makes it possible for users
to wirelessly connect the laptop to an HDTV and access digital content
with the touch of a button. The Port??Â«g??Â« R705-P35 is priced at $899.99.

A Best Buy Blue Label laptop available only through the big box
retailer, the Satellite E205-S1980 laptop now features GeForce 310M
graphics processing unit (GPU) with energy-saving Optimus technology.
With a 14-inch diagonal LED-backlit HD TruBrite display, the Satellite
E205 is equipped with Intel Wireless Display technology, the new Intel
Core i5 processor, a slot-loading DVD drive and LED backlit keyboard.
The Satellite E205-S1980 is priced at $1,079.99.
"A WiMax-equipped laptop gives on-the-go consumers the connection
speeds they're used to in the office or at home without the need for
additional hardware," said Carl Pinto, vice president of product
development, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., digital
products division. "We are expanding our effort to provide more
WiMAX-ready laptops to our line as mobile connectivity becomes even
more essential for productivity and digital entertainment."
In addition to WiMax-enabled notebooks, the company recently unveiled
its answer to Apple's iPad tablet, the Folio 100. The tablet comes with
a selection of apps and services dedicated to media consumption, Web
browsing and social networking, and sports an intuitive graphical
interface developed by Toshiba to run on top of Android 2.2 (Froyo).
The Folio 100, which will retail for ?Ã¶?Â®??399, or roughly $500, will be
available during the fourth quarter of 2010 throughout Europe, Middle
East and Africa, according to a company release.
Offering a range of connectivity options, the Folio 100 is equipped
with an SD card slot, an HDMI connector, USB 2.0, WiFi and Bluetooth,
while a Mobile Broadband (3G) ready version is planned to follow soon.
The tablet also features a Nvidia TegraTM 2 processor and boasts a
battery life of up to seven hours. A 16GB on-board storage hosts music,
videos, photos, e-mails and other data and is also expandable via SD
card.

Nathan Eddy is Associate Editor, Midmarket, at eWEEK.com. Before joining eWEEK.com, Nate was a writer with ChannelWeb and he served as an editor at FierceMarkets. He is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.